Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	according_a	know_v	word_n	2,143	5	3.8658	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60440	Man driven out of the earth and darkness, by the light, life, and mighty hand of God where in plain and simple truths are brought to light, that so the cause of stumbling may be taken from before the eyes of the rulars ... / written ... from their friend ... called of men Humphery Smith.	Smith, Humphrey, d. 1663.	1658 (1658)	Wing S4068_VARIANT; ESTC R33842	15,846	16

MAN Driven out of the Earth and Darkness By the Light life and mighty hand of God Where in plain and simple truths are brought to light that so the cause of stumbling may be taken from before the eyes of the Rulars and all sorts of professors in Herefordshire that out of their minds such things may be removed which hinder them from the love of the truth and that their understandings may be opened and receive the truth which makes free and believe in the light Wherein is something related of the wonderful power of God in the work of redemption and restauration with a plain self denial by him that takes up the dayly Cross Written as a visitation of free and tender love to the captivated seed of God in them who to him are not yet restored from their friend who is now a servant of Jesus Christ and suffers for the testimony of a pure conscience in this filthy stincking wicked abominable Prison being the Common Gole and house of Correction at Winchester called of men Humphery Smith London Printed in the 11 th month 1658. Behold the Lord worketh wonderfully every morning he bringeth his judgments to light he hath brought me back from the grave and saved my soul from hell and set my feet upon a Rock THe living truth of the Lord God which he hath revealed in me by the mighty operation of his word of life which living eternal truth being my life and shall last for evermore and be as a standard of the most high lifted up to all the scattered weary soules that they may flow unto it and have it to be unto them a place of refuge defence to fly unto in the day of distress and by it come to be made free and in it worship the God of the spirits of all flesh and feel it in the inward parts according as the Lord requireth by which truth man comes to be sanctified for the word that liveth and abideth for ever is truth which comes to be ingrafted into them who believe in the light and in it wait for the promise of the Father even that spirit of truth which the world cannot receive for they know it not it being in Gods wisdome hid from the wisdome of the world who know not him that may be felt after and found who is neer unto every one of you whose measure of light in you is it you are all to know by it to come to know the eternal power and godhead as they did who had not Scriptures Rom. 1.19 For the light of Christ in you is that which is to give the knowledge of God 2 Cor. 4.6 who hath asuredly revealed his son in me and led me in the straight way to life eternal and the injoyment of the truth which is immortal the which being to me a pearl of great price and more precious then a thousand Rivers of Oyle And that none may be hindred from receiving of this which I have most assuredly found to be more excellent then the royalty of Diadems or the excellency of the most purest Gold or the most renownedst glory beauty or riches that the natural eye can behold and that all who breaths after divine refreshings and the rest that never shall be shaken and the attaining to the covenant of life and peace may come to be gathered into the one fold of blessed happiness and rest upon the rock of ages and never more be moved henceforth and for ever And that if possible all murmurings and reasonings concerning me or what I was may be taken out of the minds of all people of all sorts and that all jelousies whisperings and heart burnings in the wrathful nature may be passified and cooled with the overspreading stremes of Gods free love which truely is shed and groweth in my heart and stremeth forth as a well-spring of life toward the seed that is yet oppressed in them among whom sometime I walked in darkness and wallowed in unrighteousness afterwards stood up as a tall Cedar in the height of profession preaching great high things dayly unto others where by the I was admired by many hundreds who thereby came not to receive power to overcome their sins neither yet attain to that which the souls of many of the thirsted after whom since I have often mourned over in pitty and in the bowels of my fathers love to the seed in bondage in them from whom I have been long and far absent in body And that none of them by looking and wondring at me or any thing tat hath befallen me may stumble thereby at the light or truth it self or be thereby kept from receiving the living truth or from giving heed to that which all the wise master-builders refuse nor that they by looking at what I was before I received and lived in the truth and at that which justly came upon me for my former rebellion against the light nor at the judgements of God that come upon me within or without because of my unwillingness to follow him who said I am the light follow me and said He that will not leave father and mother wife and children goods or lands for my sake is not worthy of me and he that will not deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me is not worthy of me and what a cross it was for me to leave what I did let that of God in all that then knew me judge but I say that none of them who were Colonels Captains Justices Professors nor people by looking out at any thing concerning me may not be withheld from receiving the truth and so kept from that which is the way to the father and the door to the rest for evermore Therefore hath it lay long of late years and often upon me and that from the hand of the Lord to lay something before your eyes O ye rulers professors and people of Herefordshire and thereabout endeavouring thereby to remove any cause of stumbling by reason of what I was or of any false reports raised upon me whereby the whole truth of God might be evil spoken of And this have I waited long to declare among you either in words writing or print though thereby shame might come upon my former course of life when I lived in all manner of sinne and iniquity except it were actual adultery fornication and murther and though also hereby contempt may come upon all that great profession I was in when I preached dayly in the Sinagogue or upon all that I then spoke or preacht out of the innocent life of God or if hereby at present sufter I reproch as it is like I may by many yet the reproch of Christ is greater riches to me then the treasuer-glory and preferment of England And first concerning my call out of the world or my going out from my house countrey and outward imployment The light of Christ which condemns the evil deeds comes from him who calleth his out of the world

me from all the worship of the world and gave me to see the abominations of all the prayers of the wicked and the invalidity of all the worships of all mankind who are out of Gods Covenant and the operations then upon me by the terrible hand of the Lord and the strivings that were in me can never be declared and then did the Lord command me to follow him in obedience to his will to declare against all unrighteousness of men Which I saw in the light of life to be in Priests Rulers and people and I then saw clearely in the eternal light and foresight of God the hardships cruelties whippings imprisonments and dungeon and many such things which since in part have been upon this body fulfilled as may be read in severall of my bookes read the true Rule and at that time did the povverfull life of God so much break through me with such unspeakable love that I was even willing to leave all and walk with God But then contrary to Paul I reasoned with flesh and blood that I should be esteemed a madman and that people vvould not beleeve me and that I was not fit many such things then the word of the Lord was spoken in me saying vvho is it that openeth the mouth is it not I the Lord then vvas my bowels even turned within me with the constraining power of Gods eternall love and I began to be vvilling but when that vvas a little over The tempter being neer I reasoned concerning my wife and children how they should be provided for and presently the promise of the Lord was that they should be cared for and his promise vvas to me that he who converteth souls to God should shine as the Starres for ever and when I had received them vvords into me I vvas overcome vvith the refreshings of God and at the present made vvilling to undergo all tribulations if in my whole life I did convert but one soul to God seeing and feeling the redemption of one soul to be so pretious the vvhich then grew so strong in me that I was scarce able to retain from present actuall obedience to God therein but when I looked at my outvvard things and how first to settle that in order then was I by temptations made afraid that it vvas a delusion or something of the Devil tansformed as an Angel of light and then between both I was in much trouble and distresse not knowing vvhat to do having not then known any call●d Quakers nor any such operations in any man in those dayes yet that could hardly prevail to make me beleeve it was a temptation but at last reasoning about outvvard things I then resolved not to leave them but to minde the things of the vvorld and not obey that vvhich called me out of the world And to write in short at last I did strive and joyne withall the powers of darknesse that I could and used all means possible to drive the power of God from me and the thoughts of him and his works out of my minde but woo was me after for it and it had been but just if his Spirit had never strived more with me but left me to be cut off for ever and to remain in the horrible pit of darknesse and surely it was for the good of others that the Lord did spare me some whereof may now with me rejoyce for evermore For when all was too little to overcome the mighty power of God in me then did the love of the world prevail and even thirstings for the love of it to come in to my heart to drive out the love of God at last I with it against God prevailed though the living power of God was so great that the Devil the Flesh and the world was scarce able to overcome it for a time and so I have seen Children Wife Farmes and Oxen to hinder from the Kingdom of God but that which hindred most was the love of outward goods so it it was but just with God to take that at the last out of the way and if he had swept all away in his Anger as from Job he had done me no wrong But when I had thus in a cursed manner overcome the striving of the sweet and lovely Spirit of Truth yet was I not quiet but much troubled and in a sad condition which I was not able to hide from the vvorld who said I was going mad seeing me so changed into sadnesse but of all this and much more I durst not then speak a word to any creature And now mark vvhat for my rebellion did justly follow My outward goods which I then loved more then Christ became as a prey and a spoyle to unreasonable men and most unjustly on their parts was I by them deprived of it and the Lord also dryed up all my springs within that such a time after I knew that I was left without hope being in the horrible pit of Darknesse from God that I could neither pray nor beleeve but resolved that I was accursed from God for ever and that vvhich disobeyed was so and being in a sad miserable condition resolved to write a warning to all people that they may take example by me and never resist the Spirit as I had done but before I could write sinking down into the condemnation without murmuring against God knovving him to be just if he cast me into the nethermost hell for ever the Lord had compassion on me and lifted my soul out of the horrible pit and stayed me vvith his hand for a time yet aftervvards his afflictions follovved me in judgements within and much trouble in things vvithout vvhich my heart vvas so upon and yet for a long time I turned not unto the Lord that did smite that his hand might make whole though checks I had by his light in my conscience but strong vvas my vvill about it until the fierce judgement of the Lord did often break forth upon me vvith much astonishment of heart and horrible indignation not to be uttered vvith teares as streames of vvater from mine eyes night and day vvhen it came upon me vvith tremblings breakings vvhich broke the hardnesse of my heart and opened avvay to something in me vvhith then I dearly loved but going out agin from that I reasoned about my outvvards and not vvaiting to receive counsell from the Lord I vvent unto a rich understanding man in outvvard things vvhom I loved vvho may yet remember that I made my complaint unto that I vvas not able any longer to abide in the vvay of the vvorld vvhose counsell I then took and my ovvn vvill together and so sought to keep tvvo Kingdoms sometime longer and therefore much trouble follovved me vvithin and vvasting losse shame and destruction upon things vvithout But however I durst do no lesse then follow the Lord and be obedient unto him whatever losse I suffered or whatever shame or reproach I might undergoe though often times I